Oak  Street 
UNCLASSIFIED 


REPORT  OF  M.  E.  WADSWORTH 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE 

MICHIGAN  MINING 


SCHfifrt 


FOR,  1896 


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REPORT  OF  M.  E.  WADSWORTH 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE 


MICHIGAN  MINING  SCHOOL 


FOR  1896 


p.4177 


Exchange 
Newberry  Library 


THE  MICHIGAN  MINING  SCHOOL. 


[Reprinted  from  the  annual  report  of  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  for  the  year  1896.] 


REPORT  OF  PRESIDENT. 


Hon.  H.  R.  Pattengill,  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 

Dear  Sir — The  tenth  birthday  of  the  Michigan  Mining  School  was 
passed  on  September  15,  1896.  During  this  brief  time  it  has  risen  to  a 
recognized  position  amongst  the  foremost  engineering  schools  of  the 
country,  and  obtained  an  international  reputation. 

It  was  established  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  of  Michigan,  approved 
May  1,  1885,  and  opened  for  the  admission  of  students  September  15, 
1896.  It  is  located  in  a  district  in  which  mining  is  conducted  on  a  larger 
scale  than  anywhere  else  in  the  world,  and  one  which  has  the  deepest 
shafts  and  the  most  powerful  mining  machinery  used  anywhere.  In 
this  respect  its  location  is  most  fortunate,  since  nowhere  in  Michigan, 
outside  of  the  Upper  Peninsula,  can  the  same  practical  instruction  be 
given,  even  if  the  State  spent  millions  on  millions  of  dollars  in  a  vain 
attempt  to  do  this  work  elsewhere.  Some  of  the  shafts  are  nearly  five 
thousand  feet  perpendicular  and  others  over  a  mile  in  length  on  the 
incline.  General  information  concerning  the,  mines  and  locality  is  given 
in  the  catalogue  for  1894-1896  and  it  need  not  be  repeated  here.  The 
school  is  also  conveniently  near  the  iron  mining  districts  of  Marquette, 
Menominee,  and  Gogebic. 

Houghton  county  is  the  third  wealthiest  county  in  the  State,  only 
Wayne  and  Kent  paying  higher  taxes.  The  village  of  Houghton  is  the 
county  seat  and  residence  town  of  the  county. 

Probably  the  greatest  advantage  next  to  its  elective  system  and  its 
location,  is  the  fact  that  this  is  the  only  educational  institution  in  the 
United  States  that  concerns  itself  solely  with  the  problems  relating  to 
the  mineral  wealth  of  the  earth,  and  whose  every  energy  is  devoted  to 
giving  the  best  instruction  possible  for  that  purpose.  Its  location  and 
equipment  give  it  exceptional  opportunities  to  impart  instruction  in 
mining  and  mining  engineering,  mineralogy,  petrography,  geology, 
mechanical  engineering,  shop  practice,  field  and  mine  surveying,  mineral 
chemistry,  drafting,  ore  dressing,  etc.,  etc. 


4 


DEPARTMENT  OF  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION. 


The  name  “Michigan  Mining  School,”  the  phraseology  of  the  act,  the 
originally  proposed  two  years’  course,  and  the  prospectus  issued  in  July, 
1886,  all  show  that  the  intention  of  its  originators  was  to  found  an  insti¬ 
tution  for  the  training  of  miners  and  the  lower  grades  of  mining  know¬ 
ledge.  In  the  execution  of  this  plan  the  principal,  Albert  Williams,  Jr., 
opened  the  school  in  a  suite  of  four  rooms  in  Fireman’s  Hall  in  Hough¬ 
ton,  with  the  additional  use  of  an  undivided  portion  of  the  basement. 
Mr.  Williams  resigned  at  the  end  of  the  first  year  spent  in  charge  of  the 
institution  and  the  present  writer  was  chosen  director  of  the  school. 
During  Mr.  Williams’'  administration,  a  small  chemical  laboratory  was 
equipped  and  a  small  working  library,  small  mineral  collections,  etc., 
obtained ;  but  no  course  of  instruction  was  regularly  organized. 

The  school  has  been  dependent  upon  legislative  appropriations,  which 
have  been  as  follows : 


Appropriations. 

1885. 

1887. 

1889. 

1891. 

1893. 

1895. 

Total. 

Current  expenses _ _ 

$25,000 

$17,500 

75,000 

$44,000 

60,000 

$57,600 

15,000 

$75,000 

35,000 

$80,000 

$299,100 

185,000 

Permanent  expenses . . . . 

Funds  available  and  amounts  disbursed  yearly. 


Year. 

1886. 

1887. 

1888. 

1889. 

1890. 

Available  current  funds _ _ _ 

$12,100  00 
10,267  12 

$16,082  29 
15,944  89 
2,800  00 
749  78 

$18,493  59 
16,672  20 
45,130  22 
44,867  97 

$25,405  16 
19,680  27 
44,462  25 
39,000  07 

$29,405  16 
24,484  87 
50,124  15 
37,351  13 

Disbursements  current  funds _ 

Available  permanent  funds _ _ _ 

Disbursements  permanent  funds _ 

Year. 

1891. 

1892. 

1893. 

1894. 

1895. 

1, 1896. 

Available  current  funds . 

Disbursements  current  funds _ 

Available  permanent  funds _ 

Disbursements  permanent  funds. 

$28,554  02 
30,610  14 
25,124  15 
19,409  29 

$37,369  99 
33,452  63 
8,714  86 
4,849  14 

$43,005  01 
41,880  81 
23,865  72 
21,266  48 

$40,494  74 
40,261  37 
17,499  24 
17,287  17 

$42,530  40 
40,309  00 
212  07 

$44,857  14 
40,792  42 

Inventory  of  State  property ,  Michigan  Mining  School. 


Inventory. 

1890. 

1894. 

1895. 

1896. 

State  property _ _ _ _ _ 

$153,328  37 

$216,966  79 

$225,019  03 

$231,895  97 

The  property  of  the  State  acquired  by  gift  and  purchase  consists  of 
land,  buildings,  collections,  equipment,  library,  etc.,  estimated  at  the  fol¬ 
lowing  amounts : 


V 

EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS. 


5 


INVENTORY,  1896. 


Administration  .  $494  25 

Buildings  .  89,623  56 

Chemistry  .  10,700  00 

Civil  Engineering .  4,812  50 

Drawing .  1,750  00 

Electrical  Engineering... .  4,279  00 

Heating  and  Lighting .  10,475  00 

Geology  .  4,608  14 

Grounds  and  Water  Supply .  23,213  17 

Library  .  26,540  34 

Mathematics  .  222  25 

Mechanical  Engineering .  17,077  00 

Metallurgy .  2,775  00 

Mineralogy  .  15,287  82 

Mining  Engineering .  ,2,570  00 

Ore  Dressing .  4,096  50 

Physics . 8,809  44 

Supplies  .  2,062  00 


$231,895  97 


INCOME. 

Outside  of  the  State  appropriation,  the  Michigan  Mining  School  has 
a  small  and  variable  income  from  supplies  furnished  the  students,  from 
payments  made  by  students  for  use  and  damage  of  apparatus,  from  labora¬ 
tory  fees,  etc.  This  amounts  to  between  $1,000  and  $2,500  each  year. 
The  students’  deposits  of  $25  each,  amounting  to  some  $2,000  to  $2,500 
yearly,  which  sum  lies  untouched  for  two  or  three  years  on  the  average, 
is  of  no  benefit  to  the  Mining  School,  even  to  tide  it  over  temporary 
financial  difficulties,  since  this  is  always  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  treas¬ 
urer  as  a  personal  or  private  deposit  for  which  he  is  accountable  to  no 
one  except  to  the  individual  students. 

At  present,  then,  outside  of  the  biennial  appropriations,  there  seems  to 
be  no  way  open  for  the  Mining  School  to  obtain  even  part  of  a  suitable 
income  to  enable  its  work  to  be  properly  carried  on  outside  of  these: 
(a)  private  beneficence;  (b)  the  passage  of  a  bill,  now  before  congress, 
to  aid  schools  of  mines  by  part  of  the  income  derived  from  the  sales  of 
public  lands;  (c)  a  one-twentieth  mill  tax;  (d)  incidental,  tuition,  and 
laboratory  fees. 

The  last  one  (d)  only  will  be  discussed  here.  If  the  State  is  willing 
properly  to  equip  the  Mining  School  for  its  work  and  then  wait  a  reason¬ 
able  length  of  time  for  the  school  to  recover  from  the  effects  of  charging 
these  fees,  no  objection  is  seen  to  this  proposition.  The  first  and  imme¬ 
diate  effect  will  be  to  diminish  the  number  of  students  in  attendance.  This 
diminished  attendance  could  be  overcome  in  a  few  years,  even  with 
heavy  fees,  if  the  president  of  the  school  could  carry  out  his  plans  for 
the  school’s  development  without  hindrance,  so  far  as  the  school  funds 
will  permit.  The  course  of  education  is  so  well  known  that,  if  an  insti¬ 
tution  will  only  prepare  itself  to  give  the  best,  most  thorough,  and  most 
practical  education  of  its  kind,  it  will  have  all  the  students  it  can  prop 
erly  accommodate,  if  it  is  given  the  time  and  opportunity  to  make  itself 
known. 


2 


6 


DEPARTMENT  OF  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION. 


Owing  to  the  great  size  and  reputation  of  the  State  University,  its  scale 
of  fees  give  the  bounds  to  the  other  State  institutions;  but  they  are  so 
low,  that  the  University’s  scale  would  yield  but  little  income  to  the 
Mining  School.  It  would  be  better  if  the  maximum  allowed  by  law  was 
charged  Michigan  students,  and  for  those  outside  of  the  State  from  |150 
to  $200  per  year,  besides  the  matriculation  fees.  This  implies  that  the 
State  give  the  equipment  now  asked  for,  since  otherwise  these  fees  could 
not  be  honorably  demanded. 


EDUCATIONAL  POLICY. 

At  the  time  the  present  president  took  charge  of  the  educational  side 
of  the  Michigan  Mining  School,  there  was  no  educational  policy  devel¬ 
oped,  nor  course  of  instruction  laid  out,  beyond  the  statement  that  the 
course  should  be  two  years  in  length.  At  that  time  there  were  only  two 
distinct  State  mining  schools  in  operation,  besides  the  Michigan  Mining 
School,  neither  of  which  confined  itself  to  mining  engineering  sub¬ 
jects.  The  Colorado  State  School  of  Mines  was  established  in  1874,  and 
in  1887-88  it  had  in  all  its  courses  45  students.  The  Missouri  School  of 
Mines,  founded  in  1873,  with  its  preparatory  and  all  its  other  depart¬ 
ments,  had  that  same  year  (1887-88)  46  students.  There  were  numerous 
departments  of  mines  in  connection  with  various  state  and  other  univer¬ 
sities  and  colleges,  but  the  number  of  students  of  mining  in  all  of  these, 
except  Columbia  and  Lehigh,  were  much  less  than  those  previously  given 
for  Colorado  and  Missouri.  Columbia  had,  in  1887-88,  51  students  in 
mining;  and  Lehigh,  56.  The  way  was  dark  and  forbidding,  and  the 
remains  of  past  failures  could  be  seen  everywhere.  In  truth,  no  state 
school  of  mines  that  was  ever  organized  in  the  United  States  could,  by 
any  exertion  of  imagination,  be  called  successful  up  to  that  time.  Suc¬ 
cess  could  not  be  hoped  for  except  through  the  rigid  adherence  of  prin¬ 
ciples  to  be  laid  down  then  and  steadily  carried  out,  and  by  an  organi¬ 
zation  effected  that  should  attempt  to  save  the  good  and  remove  the  evils 
of  other  institutions. 

The  main  principles  then  formulated  for  the  reorganization  of  the 
school  were  as  follows : 

1.  To  keep  the  school  a  special  one  for  giving  instruction  in  all 
branches  relating  to  the  development  of  the  mineral  wealth  of  the  State 
and  Nation. 

2.  To  give  the  very  best,  most  practical,  and  highest  education  in  this 
field  that  it  was  possible  to  reach,  with  the  means  at  command. 

3.  That  the  instruction  should  always  be  by  the  laboratory  and  field 
methods,  or  by  a  true  union  of  theoretical  and  practical  instruction. 

4.  That  the  school  should  in  its  earlier  days  put  every  dollar  obtain¬ 
able  into  equipment  and  collections  for  teaching  purposes,  and  nothing 
be  spent  for  show,  until  the  departments  were  in  a  condition  to  do  their 
proper  and  designated  work. 

5.  That  special  opportunities  should  be  given  to  men  of  mature  or 
advanced  age  who  were  engaged  in  practical  work,  and  who  wished  to 
obtain  an  education  to  aid  them  in  their  work. 

6.  That  the  catalogues  and  other  publications  should  state,  so  far  as 
known,  the  exact  truth  about  the  school  and  its  instruction. 


EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS. 


7 


7.  That  no  one  should  be  appointed  an  officer  in  the  school  or  be 
retained  therein,  for  any  other  reason  than  his  fitness  for  the  place  and 
his  capabilities  for  doing  his  work. 

8.  That  students  in  the  school  must  work  or  leave  and  that  no  dis¬ 
tinction  should  be  made  on  account  of  any  one’s  wordly  wealth  or  honor, 
or  birthplace — the  criterion  should  be  always  to  perform  his  duties. 
Also  that  quality  and  thoroughness  should  be  the  aim,  and  not  mere 
numbers  of  students. 

9.  The  institution  should  be  managed  upon  business  principles,  in 
which  the  professors  were  to  be  allowed  to  conduct  their  departments 
according  to  their  own  individualities.  They  were  to  be  held  responsible 
for  producing  the  required  results,  but  not  for  their  manner  of  bringing 
about  these  results.  They  were  to  have  entire  choice  of,  and  control 
over,  their  subordinates,  who  were  to  be  solely  responsible  to  them. 

10.  That  the  professors  should  be  given  by  the  president  every  aid 
and  assistance  possible  in  developing  their  departments,  and  supported 
in  enforcing  proper  discipline. 

11.  That  the  school  was  to  be  conducted  for  the  benefit  of  the  students 
and  for  the  State  and  Nation,  and  not  for  the  particular  advantage  of 
the  town  in  which  it  happened  to  be  located,  nor  for  any  special  clique, 
in  the  belief  that  in  serving  the  State  best,  the  town  would  in  the  end  be 
more  benefited  than  by  any  other  policy. 

So  far  as  allowed  by  the  Executive  Committee  and  the  Board  of  Con¬ 
trol,  these  principles  have  been  put  into  execution.  The  result  has  been 
eminently  satisfactory,  since  no  school  in  America  has  had  in  its  Course 
in  Mining  Engineering  any  such  rapid  rise  and  development  as  this  insti¬ 
tution  which  is  now  generally  known  as  the  Freiberg  of  America. 

All  credit  is  due  to  the  professors  and  their  assistants  who,  working 
under  these  principles,  have  so  nobly  aided  in  building  up  this  strong  and 
flourishing  college;  to  the  Board  of  Control  who  have  assisted  and  sus¬ 
tained  them;  and  to  the  noble  State  that  has  furnished  the  means  to 
build  an  istitution  of  which  the  State  and  Nation  may  most  justly  be 
proud. 

The  application  of  these  principles  has  had  this  effect,  that  the  presi¬ 
dent  feels  that  the  work  he  undertook  to  do  has  been  more  than  accom¬ 
plished.  The  result  already  reached  is  far  beyond  his  expectations  and 
exceeds  any  hopes  or  dreams  he  dared  indulge  in,  when  he  took  charge 
of  the  institution;  and  he  is  now  ready  and  willing  to  lay  down  the 
constantly  increasing  burden  and  care,  if  it  is  desired. 

The  courses  of  study  have  been  extended  from  two  to  three  and  four 
years,  and  finally  changed  to  a  free  elective  system.  In  this  the  Mining 
School  has  been  the  pioneer  engineering  school  in  America,  and  the 
change  has  proved  to  be  beneficial  in  every  way.  The  instruction  has 
been  constantly  strengthened  and  increased. 


STUDENTS. 

Since  1890  the  Michigan  Mining  School  has  had  the  largest  number  of 
mining  engineering  students  in  America,  so  far  as  known,  and  has  ranked 
with  the  great  colleges  of  mines  the  world  over. 


8 


DEPARTMENT  OF  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION. 


It  has  had  a  very  large  number  of  practical  men  of  various  ages,  rang¬ 
ing  from  25  to  60,  who  have  desired  to  increase  their  earning  power  by 
pursuing  studies  at  the  school.  At  the  present  day  there  are  over 
twenty-five  such  students  enrolled. 


Year. 

1886-87. 

1887-88. 

1888-89. 

1889-90. 

1890-91. 

1891-92. 

1892-93. 

1893-94. 

1894-95. 

1895-96. 

To  Feb. 

10,  1897. 

Total  number  of  students  enrolled 

23 

29 

40 

35 

61 

78 

101 

82 

94 

94 

124 

New  students  enrolled . 

23 

15 

16 

15 

46 

40 

45 

17 

49 

44 

64 

Graduates . 

7 

6 

5 

4 

0 

8 

17 

22 

18 

Total87 

RESIDENCE  OF  STUDENTS  BY  COUNTRIES  AND  STATES. 

Alabama  . . . 

British  Columbia . 

California  . 

Colorado . . . 

District  of  Columbia  . 

Germany  . . 

Illinois  . 

Massachusetts . 

Mexico . 

Michigan: 

Upper  Peninsula . 

Lower  Peninsula . 


Montana  . 

New  Hampshire 

New  York . 

Ontario  . 

Pennsylvania  .  . 

Scotland  . 

South  Africa  .  . 
South  Dakota  .  . . 

Texas  . 

Utah  . 

Wisconsin  . 


1 

2 

2 

2 

1 

1 

10 

1 

3 


53 

17 

70 

3 

1 

4 

. .  6 
2 
1 
1 
1 
1 
4 
7 

124 


RESIDENCE  OF  ALL  STUDENTS  WHEN  ENTERING,  BY  COUNTRIES  AND  STATES. 


Alabama  .  2 

California  . . . ✓ .  3 

Canada: 

British  Columbia  .  2 

Nova  Scotia  .  1 

Ontario  .  11 


14 


EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS  9 

V;  -  '  '  7  '  ■■ -  •  -  ■  -  '  #  *  . 

Colorado  .  6 

Cuba . 1 

District  of  Columbia .  1 

England .  3 

Germany .  2 

Idaho .  1 

Illinois  .  19 

Indiana .  1 

Japan .  1 

Kansas  . 1 

Massachusetts  .  2 

Mexico  .  4 

Michigan: 

Upper  Peninsula  .  178 

Lower  Peninsula.  .  68 

246 

Minnesota .  2 

Mississippi .  1 

Missouri  .  1 

Montana  . .  6 

New  Hampshire  .  1 

New  Jersey .  1 

New  York .  10 

Ohio .  4 

Oregon .  1 

Pennsylvania  .  7 

Peru .  1 

Scotland .  1 

South  Africa .  1 

South  Dakota .  1 

Texas  .  2 

Utah  .  5 

Virginia .  1 

West  Virginia .  1 

Wisconsin . 21 

Wyoming .  1 

376 

February  10,  1897. 

DIFFICULTIES. 

One  of  the  most  serious  difficulties  that  the  Michigan  Mining  School 
meets  is  the  constant  effort  of  teachers  in  the  public  and  private  schools 
to  keep  their  pupils  from  entering  it.  Numerous  cases  have  been 
reported  to  the  president  of  unwarranted  and  unjustifiable  interference 
by  entreaties,  misrepresentations,  and  various  other  means  known  to 
teachers  to  prevent  pupils  from  entering  this  institution.  This  takes 
place  in  villages  and  in  cities,  in  the  Lower  and  Upper  Peninsulas  alike; 
but  no  matter  where  they  are  located,  it  has  been  found  that  the  teachers 
who  are  reported  as  doing  this  are,  without  a  single  exception,  graduates 
of  one  school  only. 

Among  the  other  difficulties  the  .Michigan  Mining  School  has  had  to 
contend  with  is  its  distance  from  large  cities;  its  extreme  northern 
locality;  the  fact  that  it  is  not  situated  on  one  of  the  great  lines  of  travel, 
and  hence  is  much  less  known  than  it  otherwise  would  be;  the  general 
ignorance  and  misinformation  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  State  and 
usually  throughout  the  country,  regarding  the  northern  peninsula  of 
3 


10 


DEPARTMENT  OF  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION. 


Michigan,  its  people,  its  climate,  and  its  resources.  In  this  respect  prob¬ 
ably  no  one  of  the  higher  educational  institutions  is  more  disadvantage* 
ously  situated  than  this,  although  the  School,  far  more  than  any  other 
factor  during  the  past  few  years,  has  been  the  means  of  dissipating 
much  of  the  ignorance  concerning  this  part  of  the  country,  and  making 
it  more  widely  and  favorably  known  amongst  a  large  class  of  people  who 
are  not  naturally  and  directly  reached  by  its  vast  mining  operations. 

Every  member  of  the  faculty  is  a  specialist  in  his  line,  an  original 
investigator,  and  has  published  more  or  less  in  his  department,  while  all, 
except  one,  have  been  connected  with  leading  colleges  and  universities 
as  teachers  prior  to  taking  up  their  labors  here. 

Owing  to  the  school  continuing  in  session  for  the  entire  year,  except 
seven  weeks,  or  from  ten  to  fifteen  weeks  more  than  most  schools,  the 
work  of  the  instructors  is  greatly  increased.  It  would  be  a  great  gain 
to  the  Mining  School  if  the  members  of  its  faculty  could  be  relieved  of  a 
large  amount  of  drudgery  that  they  now  have  to  do,  but  which  could  just 
as  well  be  done  by  assistants  at  a  moderate  cost,  thus  enabling  the 
instructor  to  have  some  opportunity  to  keep  up  with  the  progress  in  his 
department,  and  to  publish  needed  text  books  and  original  investiga¬ 
tions.  Every  one  of  them  has  almost  double  the  work  done  by  the  aver¬ 
age  professors  in  any  college  or  university  in  the  land.  They  are  inter¬ 
ested  and  willing,  but  it  is  a  most  short-sighted  policy  on  the  part  of 
the  School  to  allow  such  a  burden  to  borne  by  them.  The  work  done 
here  now  is  done  at  the  pace  that  kills — no  man  can  stand  it  for  many 
years  and  keep  up  at  all  with  the  times;  the  inevitable  results  are  mental 
stagnation,  breaking  down,  and  death. 

There  is  great  need  of  special  works  adapted  to  the  wants  of  this  insti¬ 
tution  in  chemistry,  metallurgy,  mechanical,  electrical  and  mining  engin¬ 
eering.  mathematics,  physics,  mineralogy,  petrography  and  economic 
geology.  Unless  the  instructors  can  soon  find  time  to  complete  and 
publish  their  work  in  these  directions,  much  loss  of  credit  for  the  school 
is  likely  to  ensue.  Especially  is  this  liable  to  prove  to  be  the  case,  when 
the  graduates  are  sending  back  word  of  the  especial  practical  value  the 
notes  given  them  here  have  been  in  their  work.  Some  men  are  liable  to 
appropriate  anything  of  this  kind  that  they  can  obtain  and  to  publish  it 
without  any  acknowledgment  of  the  source  from  which  the  material 
was  obtained.  The  school  has  already  suffered  in  this  way  through  the 
publication  of  appropriated  material  as  his  own,  by  a  former  instructor, 
for  use  amongst  the  students  of  the  institution  with  which  he  is  now 
connected. 

The  conditions  in  this  institution  are  so  unlike  those  of  any  other  in 
this  country  that  each  instructor  is  obliged  to  rearrange  his  work,  and 
prepare  in  part,  or  as  a  w^hole,  his  own  text  books,  which  have  to  be 
largely  original.  There  are  two  special  reasons  why  this  must  be  done. 
First,  because  all  the  other  schools  are  giving  instruction  in  other 
courses,  hence  their  publications  usually  look  towards  training  men  in 
other  lines,  as  well  as  in  mining  engineering;  second,  because  most 
of  the  books  are  too  theoretical,  wanting  in  the  practical  applications  of 
the  principles  that  they  inculcate,  while  in  the  majority  of  cases  they  are 
padded  with  material  that  is  of  no  use  to  an  engineer. 

In  no  way  can  the  school  become  so  well  known  or  so  widely  adver¬ 
tised  as  by  the  publication  of  original  wmrk  and  text  books  by  the 


EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS, 


11 


instructors,  and  whatever  they  can  do  in  that  way  redounds  far  more  to 
the  credit  and  good  of  the  School  and  the  State,  than  it  does  to  the 
instructor. 

In  spite  of  all  the  difficulties  much  preparatory  work  has  been  done; 
as  for  instance  the  printed  or  mimeographed  notes  issued  for  the  stu¬ 
dents  in  chemistry,  mechanical  engineering,  mathematics,  physics, 
petrography,  and  crystallography,  while  in  every  department  more  or 
less. original  matter  is  freely  given  to  the  students. 

The  issue  of  suitable  text  books  would  also  save  considerable  yearly 
expense  in  giving  instruction,  as  well  as  economize  the  time  of  the 
students. 


ATHLETICS. 

The  president  wishes  to  call  special  attention  to  a  subject  that  he  has 
written  about  in  all  his  past  reports. 

It  is  a  need  that  the  State  will  not  be  likely  to  fill,  but  it  is  none  the 
less  real,  and  one  that  ought  to  appeal  strongly  to  the  benevolent  public, 
— the  need  of  a  gymnasium,  reading  room,  amusement  room,  etc.,  united 
under  one  roof.  The  morals  of  our  young  men  need  it.  The  question  of 
pleasant  physical  exercise  during  the  long  winters  is  a  vital  one  in  the 
case  of  all  brain  workers;  and  unless  there  is  some  healthful  and  moral 
physical  relaxation  to  remove  the  heavy  strain  of  the  mental  work, 
vicious  and  evil  practices  are  almost  sure  to  result. 

In  no  way  can  the  Christian  public  do  more  to  lead  the  students 
aright,  than  by  seeing  that  their  bodies  are  sufficiently  sound  to  rein¬ 
force  the  moral  side  of  their  natures.  Disease  entered  the  world  directly 
after  the  evil  one,  as  the  result  of  his  work;  then  should  not  health  every¬ 
where  be  sought  as  one  of  the  most  valuable  adjuncts  of  the  moral  side 
of  a  man?  Almost  all  of  our  cases  of  discipline  occur  during  the  winter 
season  and  after  the  students  have  been  worn  by  their  long  confinement. 

Self  preservation  ought  to  urge  the  faculties  of  every  institution  in  the 
land  to  uphold  athletic  sports  of  every  kind,  as  one  of  the  best,  cheapest, 
and  easiest  means  of  saving  the  lives  of  the  teachers  and  exorcising  the 
demons  from  the  student  body  politic.  If  anyone  doubts  it,  let  him  for  a 
moment  compare  the  contemptible  and  disgraceful  acts  of  students 
throughout  this  land  thirty,  forty,  or  fifty  years  ago  with  the  usually 
more  manly  side  now  exhibited,  owing  to  the  introduction  of  athletics. 
The  old  system  allowed  a  man  of  the  highest  moral  type,  when  he  was 
outside  of  the  college  walls,  to  glory  in  being  a  cheat,  sneak,  and 
scoundrel  when  inside  those  walls.  If  anyone  doubts  this,  let  him  listen 
to  the  reminiscences  of  the  old  time  graduate. 

It  would  be  far,  far  better  for  the  morals  of  the  world,  and  there  would 
be  far  less  need  of  prisons  and  insane  asylums,  if  the  life  saving  powers 
of  suitable  outlets  for  the  physical  energies  were  fully  recognized  by  the 
pulpit,  press,  and  public.  Gymnasiums  are  cheaper  than  prisons,  reform¬ 
atories,  and  asylums;  and  it  is  better  to  guide  man’s  energies  towards 
the  right  than  to  let  them  turn  towards  the  wrong  for  want  of  other 
escape. 

Athletic  sports  are  the  safety  valves  of  our  educational  institutions. 

Verv  truly  vours, 

M.  E.  WADSWORTH. 


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